


Preparation of Luck

by twobirdsonesong



Category: Glee
Genre: Coffee Shop, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-24 23:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twobirdsonesong/pseuds/twobirdsonesong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luck or something like it brings Sebastian into Blaine's coffee shop one fateful afternoon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Preparation of Luck

The first time is entirely by coincidence.  Almost.  From across the street, Sebastian had seen Blaine duck into the little storefront with the quaint maroon awning purely by chance and decided to follow him inside.  Just to see what he was up to.  Not that he cared.  Much.

 

Sebastian isn't expecting a darling little café – he’d have thought a music store perhaps, or even a little boutique  – and he's certainly not expecting to see Blaine emerging from the back, still tying the strings of an apron around his trim waist.

 

“Anderson,” Sebastian drawls and Blaine’s head snaps up, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of him.  “What _are_ you doing in that apron?”  Sebastian watches Blaine's cheeks pink up.  

 

“I work here,” Blaine answers, slowly.  Warily.

 

“Why?”  Sebastian spares a glance around the café.  It’s Parisian-themed, as cafés tend to be, but Sebastian catches perfect little macarons alongside _mille-feuille_ in the tidy pastry case and snippets of colloquial French coming from a well-dressed middle-aged couple seated near a window.

 

“To make money?”  Blaine cocks his head as he takes his place behind the register.

 

“Your parents cut you off?”  Sebastian moves to lean a hip against the restored wood of the counter.  He knows the wealth of the Anderson family and can’t image why Blaine would need a part-time job anywhere.

 

“No, I just,” Blaine shrugs then smoothes his wrinkle-free apron.  It’s back with gold writing on the front and it brings out the amber in his eyes.  “I want to, I guess.  It's good experience.  And it’s good to get out.  Do something meaningful with my day, outside of school.”

 

"Mhmm."  Sebastian levels a long look at Blaine, who blushes a deeper shade of red under the scrutiny.  Blaine isn’t telling him something and Sebastian thinks he has an inkling of what that might be.

 

“Can I get you something or are you just going to stand there mocking me?”

 

“Oh, you can get me something all right.  That's _always_ been on offer.”  Sebastian lets his gaze flick obviously to Blaine’s lips and the exposed path of smooth skin at the base of his neck.  Blaine swallows heavily and Sebastian watches the movement in his throat.

 

“Sebastian.”  There’s a note of pleading in Blaine’s voice that causes Sebastian to look back up.  Blaine’s cheeks are still red, but his lips are set in a firm line.

 

“Okay, okay.”  Sebastian pushes away from the counter.  “I’ll take a doppio to go.  I have things to do and don’t feel like lingering in – where are we?  The Upper West Side?  How did you even pick this place?  Anyway.  You do know what a doppio is, don’t you?”

 

Blaine just rolls his eyes.  “I’m actually quite good at what I do.”

 

“I’m sure you are.  And you know I’m always open to see what else you’re good at.”

  
Blaine’s red lips press together as he turns away to make Sebastian’s espresso and Sebastian knows he’s struggling to hide a smile.  Sebastian’s never been able to figure out why Blaine works so hard act like he hates to be in Sebastian presence, that he doesn’t find Sebastian intriguing, when Sebastian knows better.  He’s seen the way Blaine looks him when he thinks Sebastian isn’t paying attention, but he’s always paying attention to Blaine.  Always has.

 

Sebastian is shaken out of his thoughts when Blaine sets a little paper cup in front of him.  Sebastian takes a sip and smiles, just a little, at the perfectly pulled espresso.

 

“See you around, Anderson.”

 

***

 

Sebastian finds himself back in front of the café the next afternoon after classes get out.  It’s a lie to say it wasn’t a decision; there’s no way he can pretend he just happened upon the café once again.  The first time was a fluke, or maybe it was luck that brought him to that area of town on a completely different errand.  But he can’t use the same excuse twice, not even to himself.  As he approaches, he sees Blaine through the windows, setting a tiny espresso cup and a plate of éclairs down in front of slick-looking older gentleman.  The man smiles up at Blaine and Sebastian’s hand flexes around the strap of his messenger bag.

 

Blaine looks up from his place back behind the counter when Sebastian pushes through the wood and glass door and if he’s surprised to see Sebastian again, he masks it with an inquisitive eyebrow and arms folded across his chest, biceps flexes against the short sleeves of his polo.  Sebastian saunters up to the counter.

  
“What are you doing here?”  Blaine asks.

 

“Is that any way to great a valued customer?”

 

Blaine licks his lips.  “Are you going to buy something?”

 

“I am.”

 

Blaine gestures towards the pastry case.  “Well?”

 

Sebastian cocks his own eyebrow at Blaine.  “Anxious to get rid of me?”

 

“No, I just.  It’s not.”  Blaine pauses.  Takes a deep breath and lifts his chin.  Sebastian can almost see the heavy fabric of a Dalton blazer settling over Blaine’s broad shoulders.  When he speaks again, his voice is higher and wiped clean of any trace of annoyance. 

 

“Good afternoon, sir.  What can I get for you today?”

 

It’s so smooth and so practiced that Sebastian laughs.  He can’t help it.  He forgets how funny Blaine can be, when he’s allowed, when he dares.  “Ever the showman.  Although I do like it when you call me ‘sir.’  I’ll take a latte – skim – and a couple of those macarons.  They’re fresh, right?”

 

Blaine rolls his eyes and drops his stiff posture.  “Of course.”

 

The macarons are delicious, and so is the latte, but Blaine doesn’t need to know that.

 

***

 

He tries not to make a habit out of visiting Blaine’s café.  Sebastian’s classes aren’t anywhere near it and neither is his apartment, but that doesn’t stop him from getting off at the wrong subway stop and turning down a cute, tree-lined street.  It’s approaching fall and the leaves are just beginning to lose the green of summer and take on the hints of orange and blood red that makes autumn in New York City so captivating.  Not that Sebastian spends much time thinking about the leaves.  But he has a moment, one crisp afternoon when the breeze creeps under his collar, where he thinks about living in a brownstone on a street like this, with a café just down the way and someone to come home to.

 

Some days the little café is nearly empty and Sebastian can steal long minutes of Blaine’s time before someone else comes in and pulls Blaine’s attention away, as if it’s Blaine’s _job_ or something to serve customers besides Sebastian.  Those days Sebastian peppers Blaine with questions about his classes, what he’s doing now that he doesn’t have a glee club to command, and whether or not he can ever get Blaine to go out drinking with him again.  He certainly doesn’t ask about that thing they never talk about.  And Blaine doesn’t question why he continues to show up.

 

And if Sebastian has to go on extra runs to make up for all the pastries he’s been sampling, well, that’s life.  But he can’t refuse when Blaine boxes up a selection of delectable _petit fours_ for him to take with his coffee.

 

Other times the shop is brimming with people and Sebastian is forced to keep their interactions short.  Sebastian doesn’t think he imagines the disappointed looks Blaine gives him when they can’t exchange more than a few words at the register.  While he waits for his coffee, Sebastian watches Blaine with the other customers.  Blaine is kind and generous and endearingly patient with everyone, even the little old woman who comes in once a week and orders in French.  Sebastian would correct Blaine on his pronunciation, but he likes the way the little mistakes slide off Blaine’s tongue.

 

And he certainly doesn’t think about it when Blaine offers a young man a sweet smile with his soy chai.

 

***

 

Sebastian gets there too early one day.  Or maybe Blaine is late.  Sebastian doesn't keep Blaine's schedule.  But when Sebastian walks in and flicks his gaze about the place, he doesn't see Blaine anywhere.  It’s the first time it’s happened since Sebastian starting showing up, however long ago.  He considers leaving because what's the point?  But he's come this far already, why waste the entire trip with nothing to show?  And besides, Sebastian does have reading to do for class.  He might as well make use of the quiet atmosphere to get his work done.

 

There’s a young girl behind the counter that afternoon Sebastian has never seen before and she smiles coyly at him.  Sebastian resists the urge to sneer at her.  He orders his usual, annoyed he even has to tell her what his drink is, before making his way towards the back of the café.  There’s a table tucked in the corner where Sebastian can watch the entire café without being the midst of the bustle.  Warm sunlight filters through the window, alighting on dust motes and easing the strain of the reading.

 

The girl brings him his drink and the _pain au chocolat_ he ordered, setting it down with a flirty little flutter of her lashes.  Sebastian nods politely and knows the hard set of his eyes is the last indication of his disinterest that she’s going to need.

 

Blaine arrives hours later, slipping through the door as a few fallen leaves swirl behind him.  Sebastian narrows his eyes and stops taking notes.  There’s stubble on Blaine’s normally smooth cheeks and dark circles under his eyes.  His shoulders are slumped out of their usual oh-so-proper posture.  Sebastian frowns.  Blaine had seemed a little down the last few days, but he’d told Sebastian it was nothing but a busy few weeks as the end of term approached coupled with picking up a few extra shifts.  Sebastian thinks Blaine wasn’t being entirely truthful.

 

Blaine seems to be apologizing to his co-worker, who gives him a nauseating sympathetic look and goes so far to rub comfortingly at his back.  Sebastian feels the muscles in his jaw clenching and he sets his book down before he wrinkles any more of the pages.

 

The girl offers Blaine another smile before she steps away and heads for the back, untying her apron as she does.  Blaine seems to take a deep breath and that’s when he looks up, sees Sebastian sitting across the café, staring at him.  Sebastian’s heart thuds at the look of relief that washes over Blaine’s features.

 

Sebastian jerks his head a little, asking without words, and Blaine glances around to make sure no one in the café needs anything before making his way over to Sebastian’s table.

 

“Hey,” Blaine offers.  “Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

 

Sebastian hates how soft Blaine’s voice is.  “Nonsense.  I’ve got work to do.  Seemed like a decent enough place to do it.”

 

Blaine nods, tapping the edge of Sebastian’s book.  Sebastian’s completely forgotten what he’s been reading about the last couple of hours.

 

“Everything okay?” Sebastian asks when it’s obvious that Blaine isn’t going to say anything else.  Blaine shrugs and a muscle in his cheek flutters.

 

“Fine.”

 

“How’s things at h-”

 

“Don’t.”

 

Sebastian searches Blaine’s face, takes in the set of his jaw, the drawn eyebrows. The tired eyes.  “Okay.”

  
Blaine doesn’t move, hardly breathes.

 

“Can you sit?” Sebastian asks suddenly.

 

“I-” Blaine looks around the café.  It’s later than usual, the sun hanging low on the horizon and the corners of the shop are darkened.  There are just a few tables of customers sipping at espresso, reading books, and typing away at laptops.  And no one is coming in the door.  Blaine bites gently at his lip.

 

“I’ll have to get up if anyone comes in.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Blaine swallows and nods once.  Sebastian expects him to pull out the chair opposite from him, but instead Blaine turns and walks back to the counter.  Embarrassment and disappointment burns bitter in Sebastian’s belly until Blaine reappears, carrying a French press and a plate of macarons.

 

“Your coffee looked cold,” he says as he refills Sebastian’s cup.  The bitterness is replaced by a slow rolling warmth as Sebastian studies Blaine’s face, the lines that have softened since he arrived minutes before, and the way the late afternoon sun is bringing out of the gold in his eyes.

  
“If you ever want-” Sebastian starts.

 

“I know,” Blaine interrupts.  He sits in the chair across from Sebastian and takes a slow sip from the cup he’d just refilled.  “I know.  I just – let’s make it through this cup first, okay?”

 

Sebastian nods and meets Blaine’s soft gaze over the coffee and the pastries.  He doesn’t know if it was luck that first brought him to this café, but whatever it was, it was good.


End file.
